We provide automatic aid to our closest neighboring department. They are in the same county as we are and we have a countywide dispatch so we can hear their pages. Our agreement with them is that when they get paged for a structure fire we automatically respond, they do the same for us.

Automatic Aid

I don't believe any of the county line "border" departments have automatics with out-of-county agencies, and vice versa. Those mutual aid requests are generally done by phone.

My department has two others on automatic for structure responses. For MVAs, half our district has one department (for extrication tools), the other half has two (also for extrication tools). There were politics involved in the latter. For fire, we have extra alarms set up in the dispatch CAD based on which half of our district the incident is located.

We go automatic with the other department in the township for structure calls only. For all of the other bordering agencies we're on their extra alarms.

All of these are set up in the county dispatch CAD, so they just have to select the appropriate response and hit send to get the tones out.

Overall, there is great inconsistency in the automatics and extra alarms around. Some departments have the full range specified, so it's only a matter of dispatch pulling the hook. Other departments say they'd prefer to get on scene before they call for outside help, at which time they specify who else they want to respond. Sometimes they'll call for more help based on information dispatch is receiving (ie, heavy smoke, flames visible).

The county cannot direct response levels - NY is a "home rule" state, so the lowest level of authority calls the shots. The county won't send more help unless requested by a responding department, and is even reluctant to tone out another department if the "home" department isn't getting out the door.

My current combination department, where I work full-time does not give or receive automatic aid.

My current volunteer department receives automatic aid for structure fires, investigations and alarms from the combination department in the neighboring small city. We are both dispatched out of the parish 911 Center.

My previous VFD in VT gave and received automatic aid to/from 3 other volunteer departments. the assignment was based on the zone within our district and the community that we were responding to. This was determined by a map on the wall of the station which broke down the apparatus to respond/received up to a 3rd alarm.

We give and receive auto aid on our first alarm assignment. We are dispatched by the county 911 center. If the auto aid department is in our county we are all dispatched at the same time. (Each department is on different frequencies.) If our auto aid is from/for the county to the north, the city to the north, or one of the two states to the west, our dispatch center calls their dispatch and they are toned by their own dispatch center the reverse is true when we are sending auto aid.

The county to the north is VHF as we are and everyone as each other’s frequencies in their radios. The city to the north is 800, our radios are patched together with their radios at the city dispatch center and we have 800 radios on their system that they provide. The state to the west is 800 and is a different system than the city so they can’t talk to each other. We provide them with two radios to use. The other state to the west is on 400 and they have their old VHF radios that they may or may not turn on.

We can request mutual aid as deemed necessary. Generally anything that comes into dispatch that sounds like more than a simple fire alarm will get toned out as a first alarm, which will bring multiple departments, each with specific apparatus and to a degree, assignments. For us (and I'm assuming most of the surrounding towns that we run mutual aid for) our town is broken into districts/zones that determine what other departments get called and what to bring with each alarm.

We will respond across the state line to neighboring department and vice versa. We each have the others radio frequency programmed into the radios to use as needed. For everything else we have 'operations' channels to use and on really big incidents occasionally a 'state fire' channel that everyone in the state has will be used.

Auto Aid Is Not Mutual Aid

My old outfit, the City Fire Department, has an Auto Aid agreement with "that other agency" the County Fire Department. Regarding structure fire 1st alarm auto aid, the closest available fire company(s) go. I do not know the specifics regarding other alarm types. It also might default to mutual aid for greater structure alarms. Joint fire dispatch and training.

I am learning, (difficult process for me) that Auto Aid can now bite regarding the new ISO grading schedule. In our case, it MAY lower OUR number of net engines, ladders and staffing. Who scratches whose back more? In our case we may be helping them more than they help us. Again, this is auto aid and not mutual aid. HB of CJ (old coot) (ex FF PM RN)

We have a 5 town automatic aid agreement, with us even being across a county line. I have moved to their dispatch center and we are all dispatch for structure fires under a "General Alarm". The complete coverage area is broken down to 13 districts, both city and rural. Then we look at the district to see our assignments and which station responds with which apparatus, or maybe even move up for station coverage. "Hosting" department then general tone, ALL notified at once.

For other calls that are not a confirmed working fire, such as smoke or alarms each department has their own run cards on the CAD system and usually will bring a neighboring department with them.

There are only two fire departments in the county (both all volunteer). Both are dispatched through the county sheriff's office on the primary radio frequency. Automatic aid is dispatched for all reported structure fires. During periods of high fire danger, all reported fires are bumped to automatic aid.

There is no automatic aid in place for out-of-county responses, but we do run a good bit of mutual aid. The department requesting mutual aid notifies their county dispatch, their county dispatch notifies ours via telephone, and ours sets the tones. If one department has a significant amount or personnel and equipment responding to a request for mutual aid, the other department is bumped to automatic aid.

We have a countywide dispatch center that dispatches all police, fire and ems in the county. We have 7 fire departments and 2 seperate ems agencies in the county. (5 of the fire departments do ems too)

We are part of the MABAS system statewide in Wisconsin, we are Division 126. This means we could potentially give mutual aid to any other MABAS division in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Iowa.

We provide mutual aid to our neighbors as well through a countywide contract from our County Fire Chief's Association. By contract, we have a borderless EMS response countwide meaning anyone that is close to a call can respond regardless of primary agency.

My department also is simultaneously dispatched to areas east of our city into the Town of Washington simply because we are closer and can respond quicker. We are also simultaneously dispatched with two other fire departments and two other EMS departments to a state highway that runs through several jurisdictions, regardless of the actually jurisdiction the incident is located.

My department receives mutual aid from a neighboring department for tenders in certain areas of my city that does not have hydrants. The also come into my city as back up for extrication calls and for water rescue calls.

We run automatic to two other departments and provide frequent mutual aid to about three others in the county and one outside the county. Those within our county are dispatched by our same dispatchers; the one in the other county is dispatched via their 911 center after a phone call from our 911 center.

The department I am at has auto aid with 5 other jurisdictions. How it is dispatched is each other department can dispatch us with out having to go through our dispatch center. We can also do the same with them as well without going through dispatch center to dispatch center.